How and why be a better person?

How and why be a better person?

How would anyone define being a better person? Is it simply a question of displays of affection and acts of kindness towards your fellow man, or is this a quality that scratches much more below the surface of what is visible. Research shows that being good is in our best interest. There is definitely a lot more towards being a better person than what is seen on the surface. It involves your interior and exterior self coming to an agreement on the requirements to be better than what you are, not better than what is perceived to be the status quo, by the rest of the world. Here are a few ways to reach this balance of goodness within yourself:

Acceptance of the Process

Just as Rome was not build in a day, nobody becomes a better person overnight. It is a lengthy process that you will passively spend the rest of your life involved in, if you make the active choice to do so. So, it would only be best for you to accept the face that this is a process that requires you to be committed to it and keep yourself open to growth always. Your goals and values may change over time, and that’s alright. Keeping yourself open to this type to change and growth makes you a flexible person, and this is a small step on the road to becoming a better person. Being a flexible, open minded individual accepting of the faults and good in others and being someone who is aware of the faults in himself is truly what makes us human and gives us the chance to be better humans in this world that growths smaller and way more diverse by the moment.

Examine your individual beliefs

Easier said than done, but there comes a point where every individual needs to objectively examine his or her behavior with respect to dealing with love, loss, heartbreak, friendships and the multitude of other emotions that involve other individuals. Then we need to examine how our behavior affects those around us and thus work on improving how we manage our composure with every situation.

Determine and set goals

There is an absolute science to setting goals for yourself. Everyone has their own way of doing it, but ultimately the end result is the same. You are defining the changes that you would wish to see in yourself and when you put these prospective goals and desires down to paper, you give them a tangibility that wasn’t there before. You are creating physical milestones for yourself and this makes all the difference between procrastinating about changing yourself and actually going through with the change.

Practice Compassion

Human survival is based on compassion. It is what separates us from animals and savages. Our ability to empathize and relate with the pain of our fellow man is what sets us apart from all other species on the planet. We know how it feels to be hurt, and we are naturally inclined to see the unpleasantness in human suffering and pain. Of course, how we choose to act on what we see depends on the type of person we are, but without a doubt we are trained to understand the difference between happiness and sadness. We are emotionally volatile creatures and just as such, we are very perceptive to the emotional changes in other humans. This is not to say that we should or even need to empathize with the pain and suffering of every individual that we meet in our lives, but we need to exercise the power of compassion with everyone. This takes many forms, with some of them being:

Be a more forgiving person towards others

Control feelings of envy and anger

Be actively grateful to others for their help

Learn to give rather than receive, in the form of random acts of kindness, volunteering work

The best reward that you can receive from a person is a smile. A well earned smile is a priceless reward that endures forever.

Conclusion

Last but not the least, learn to focus on what you want to do and where you want to be in your life. Do what you love to do and don’t be afraid to take risks and experiment with life. That is what makes living different from existing. Reaping the benefits of rich life experiences humble you and make you a more grateful and overall better person on its own. At Community, we always love to hear your opinions. Please let us know if you feel there are more ways that we can be better individuals and human beings in the comments! Sign up here for our Beta program!